Hishon v. King & Spalding

Decided May 22, 1984. Warren Earl Burger delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 82-940 · 467 U.S. 69 (1984) · Cited 5,292 times

Holding

Petitioner's complaint states a claim cognizable under Title VII, and she therefore is entitled to her day in court to prove her allegations.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Conley v. Gibson · 355 U.S. 41 (1957)
• Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody · 422 U.S. 405 (1975)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Regents of the University of California v. Bakke · 438 U.S. 265 (1978)
• Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co. · 424 U.S. 747 (1976)
• Runyon v. McCrary · 427 U.S. 160 (1976)
• Allied Chemical & Alkali Workers of America, Local Union No. 1 v. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. · 404 U.S. 157 (1971)
• Thomson v. Gaskill · 315 U.S. 442 (1942)
• Norwood v. Harrison · 413 U.S. 455 (1973)
• Railway Mail Assn. v. Corsi · 326 U.S. 88 (1945)
• Arizona Governing Committee for Tax Deferred Annuity & Deferred Compensation Plans v. Norris · 463 U.S. 1073 (1983)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis · 600 U.S. 570 (2023)
• Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp. · 546 U.S. 500 (2006)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly · 550 U.S. 544 (2007)
• National Organization for Women, Inc. v. Scheidler · 510 U.S. 249 (1994)
• Stanley v. City of Sanford · 606 U.S. 46 (2025)
• Neitzke v. Williams · 490 U.S. 319 (1989)
• Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston · 469 U.S. 111 (1985)
• New York State Club Assn., Inc. v. City of New York · 487 U.S. 1 (1988)
• Wisconsin v. Mitchell · 508 U.S. 476 (1993)
• Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. A. · 534 U.S. 506 (2002)
• Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White · 548 U.S. 53 (2006)
• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins · 490 U.S. 228 (1989)
• H. J. Inc. v. Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. · 492 U.S. 229 (1989)
• Patterson v. McLean Credit Union · 491 U.S. 164 (1989)
• United States v. Burke · 504 U.S. 229 (1992)
• California Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Guerra · 479 U.S. 272 (1987)
• Boy Scouts of America v. Dale · 530 U.S. 640 (2000)
• Ansonia Board of Education v. Philbrook · 479 U.S. 60 (1986)
• Board of Directors of Rotary International v. Rotary Club of Duarte · 481 U.S. 537 (1987)
• Square D Co. v. Niagara Frontier Tariff Bureau, Inc. · 476 U.S. 409 (1986)
• Clackamas Gastroenterology Associates, P. C. v. Wells · 538 U.S. 440 (2003)
• Breininger v. Sheet Metal Workers International Ass'n Local Union No. 6 · 493 U.S. 67 (1989)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Warren Earl Burger’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1984). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).